EC removes added declaration from Form 6 online in states where SIR is over

The EC had on September 26 announced that “for non-SIR period, the Forms applicable as per Rules (the Registration of Electors Rules 1960) will be used.” (File)

Four days after announcing the decision, the Election Commission on Wednesday night removed the SIR declaration added to the statutory voter enrolment form, Form 6, from its ECINET application portal in states where the SIR has concluded.

The EC had on September 26 announced that “for non-SIR period, the Forms applicable as per Rules (the Registration of Electors Rules 1960) will be used.”

This was after The Indian Express had reported last week that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had expressed objections to the addition of the declaration in the Form 6, which can only be amended by the Union Law Ministry.

On Wednesday night, the ECINET portal no longer showed the declaration, which had been inserted in between Sections J and K of the Form 6 online, for the states where the final SIR electoral rolls have been published so far.

The declaration was still there for those states where the SIR is still ongoing.